SIXERS: Sixers wilt to the Heat

MIAMI ó Lining up in front of their bench as the lights dimmed, Miamiís reserves began dancing. The game hadnít yet begun, and pregame introductions hadnít even been doled out, but the Heat looked as though they were celebrating.

The top team in the East, the one with only three losses in 30 home dates, the Heat have earned the right to entertain their fans Ė even those late-arriving supporters to an 8 p.m. tip.

Friday night, the Heat needed until the fourth quarter to dispatch the 76ers, 102-93, who used a solid performance from 3-point range to stay in the game.

Still, it was against the Heat, the owners of a 17-game winning streak who needed only 60 games to clinch a playoff berth.

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Spencer Hawes nearly had a double-double by halftime, finishing with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Thad Young had 23 points, but couldnít seem to find his way on the glass, finishing with two rebounds. And Jrue Holiday and Evan Turner, both of whom played below average earlier this week in Atlanta, couldnít break out of their respective ruts.

The Sixers (23-28) lost for the 11th time in 12 games and their 11th straight road game.

Even the pregame warmup dunks oozed theatrics, with James lobbing one off the backboard to himself, grabbing it behind his head, and throwing down a two-handed slam.

When the game started, the entertainment didnít end. The Heat won the tip, with Chris Bosh batting the ball to James at around the free-throw line. Then James crouched down and snapped the ball through his legs to Mario Chalmers.

Undaunted by the Heatís act, the Sixers put on a show of their own.

Evan Turner, usually a corner-3 kind of guy, knocked down a pair of 3-pointers at the top of the arc to spur a strong first-quarter run by the Sixers. They led Miami for most of the opening 12 minutes, with the Heat only pulling away for the final minute. Jamesí finish on an alley-oop by Norris Cole had something to do with it.

Not to be outdone by Turner, Damien Wilkins got into the act. Wilkins converted 3-point attempts on two straight possessions. By the time Thad Young paired a backcourt steal with a fastbreak dunk, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra had no choice but to call a timeout with his team down, 35-33.

The Sixersí barrage from long range didnít end there. Royal Ivey hit a pair in the second quarter, as well, helping the Sixers shoot 7-for-10 in the first half from 3-point distance and take a 51-47 lead into the break.

Let that marinate for a minute.

Not too many in the sold-out building could have seen this one coming: Miami, with the fifth-longest winning streak in NBA history, losing to the Sixers at halftime? The Heat entered the game with more wins in their building (27) than the Sixers overall (23).

Even more confounding than the score at intermission was how the Sixers got there. All-Star Jrue Holiday, whoís been in a funk his last four games, opened the game by bricking his first five attempts.

Yet the Sixers still found a way to lead the Heat.

Holiday didnít need too much time into the third quarter to get on the board, with his first shot falling in. A bucket later, the Sixers had matched their largest lead of the game, at nine, by pulling ahead, 58-49.

The Heat followed up with an 11-4 run, punctuated by Wadeís half-court baseball pass to James for an easy layup to knot the score at 62-all. The Sixers showed cracks in the foundation (Hawes and Damien Wilkins racking up four personals apiece), but never crumbled and kept the game at one possession.

If not for Jamesí one-legged 3-pointer in front of the Sixersí bench, as time expired in the third quarter, the Sixers mightíve taken a lead into the fourth.

Not like it wouldíve mattered much.

The Sixers showed little resistance in the fourth. Wrightís shots airballed. Turnerís shots came up short. And the Sixers tried to get away with long passes, something Sixers coach Doug Collins warned against attempting in pregame.

Coleís fastbreak layup triggered a 10-0 run in the fourth, and Jamesí finger-roll was the highlight of it. James seemed to smile at the top of the key, when he noticed Hawes was paired with him. James darted past Hawes and into the low post where he went up for an uncontested look.

By the time the Heat had opened up a 93-81 advantage with 6:04 to play, Collins had seen enough. He called a timeout, walked to the end of his bench and crossed his arms.